


Under the Orchard Trees

by captain_staryeyed



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26217883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_staryeyed/pseuds/captain_staryeyed
Summary: In need of some peace and quiet, maid of honor Rose Tico sneaks off, only to run into an unlikely figure--the best man.Based on a prompt from @gingerflowerprompts on Twitter.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rose Tico, Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	Under the Orchard Trees

The steady rhythm of the bass sent a spike of pain through Rose’s head. Drink in hand, she stumbled out of the ballroom, catching a glimpse of her best friend, Rey, dressed in white, dancing circles around her grumpy Goliath of a groom. In spite of the skull shattering pain, Rose smiled and slipped out the door. 

As she walked down the footpath to the gardens, she cursed herself not for the first time that night. As soon as she had arrived at the venue, she knew she should have brought along a bottle of painkillers. It wasn’t that she didn’t like weddings, like most girls, she dreamed of the day that she got to marry her prince charming and throw a lavishly outrageous party; however, the chaos that ensued leading up to the ceremony very nearly turned her off the idea altogether. Not that that mattered much. In order to have a wedding, she had to first meet a decent enough guy to even consider having a wedding.

She thought she had met a worthy candidate for the role, but after some self-reflection and a nearly three-year-long relationship, prince charming decided to run off with another prince. She wanted to be happy for Finn and Poe. Really, she did. However, all of the happiness in the world could not erase the sting of it all.

Three years. They had been together for almost three years. Rose had thought he was the one. Then, as if out of the blue, Finn announced that he was gay, and the next day he moved into his new boyfriend’s place, leaving her alone in an apartment that suddenly seemed too large. Of course, had this not have happened, Rey, Finn’s foster sister, would have never moved in with her and the two of them would have never have become the great friends that they were now. But still, she wondered. . . 

Had Finn been cheating on her? After all, it was astonishing how quickly he moved on and into Poe’s open arms. And if he had been cheating on her, for how long?

She winced as another jolt of pain shot through her, overcoming the constant dull ache of her heart. She needed to stop thinking so much. It was doing nothing to alleviate the pressure building up behind her eyes.

Clearing her mind, she let her eyes roam over the world around her. Even in the moonlight, the gardens were exquisite. And of course, they were. Ben had insisted on holding the ceremony in his grandmother’s palace. Something about “family tradition.” Truth be told, Rose suspected that he wanted to give Rey a literal fairytale wedding. Of course, Rey didn’t mind, especially when she found out that they got the venue for free. The perks of marrying a literal prince.

Rose wound through a maze of topiary bushes. The smell of flowers in bloom wafted through the late-night breeze. Somewhere behind the large hedges, a fountain trickled softly. She kicked her pale pink skirt out in front of her. Thankfully, her ever practical best friend had insisted on all her bridesmaids wearing flats. Rose did not know if she would have been able to navigate her way on the rocky footpath in heels.

She wandered deeper into the gardens. From the palace balcony, Padme’s garden had not seemed so massive. Now that she was actually down there, it was like the Forbidden Forest. She passed the veranda overlooking the pool, then through a trail lined with Greek statues. Suddenly, she came upon the queen’s personal pomegranate orchard. She chuckled, knowing full well that Ben was going to have a difficult time tearing her friend away from those trees come harvest time.

She made her way down the rows of pomegranate trees, ducking out of the way of low hanging branches. She did not even notice the gazebo until she had cleared the orchard. The wooden structure was covered in so many vines, that it blended in with all of the trees that surrounded it.

The state of the gazebo appeared vastly different from the rest of the garden’s ornaments. Unlike the rest of the yard, it looked like no one had visited it in a generation. Vines wrapped themselves up and down every post. The white paint that once covered it was peeling. Untamed rose bushes overtook the walls. It was hard to believe that something so close to the palace had been so neglected. However, as she looked around her, she began to understand why. 

The gazebo stood amongst trees taller than the pomegranate ones. Somewhere between the orchard and the place she now found herself, she had wandered into the forest, which lay behind the palace. 

Really, how much did one queen need in a garden?

The faded, wooden boards creaked as Rose climbed into the gazebo. Inside was pitch black. She hoped there weren’t any loose or missing floorboards, lest she trip. She cursed herself for having left her phone in the bridesmaids’ dressing room. At the time, it had seemed wise. It would not do for the maid of honor’s phone to go off mid-ceremony. Looking back, she could have probably just shut her phone off and slipped it into the pocket of her dress--another fashion choice the bride had insisted upon.

Blindly, she circled the structure. Her leg had grazed against a wooden platform, letting her know that the interior was surrounded by one long bench. 

She reached the furthermost wall of the structure. If her calculations were correct, she was not standing far from the bench.

Taking the gamble, she sweeped up her skirts and sat down. However, instead of old, cold wood underneath her as she expected, she sat down on something much softer and made of fabric.

“Oi!” a male voice exclaimed in her ear.

Rose’s eyes widened in realization. She bolted to her feet. “Oh! Sorry!” 

The man barked out a laugh. An unexpected reaction from a stranger whose lap she had just sat on.

She heard a bit of shuffling and was almost blinded by the light of the stranger’s phone.

She almost gasped at who the phone light revealed to her.

She had met Armitage Hux--Hux, as he insisted on being called--only a handful of times. From what she had gathered, the lemon-faced man had been dragged along by Ben wherever they went. The first time the four of them had gotten together was at Maz’s diner. He had brought a book, which he had promptly pulled out as soon as he took his seat, leaving Rose to deal with the moon-struck lovers by herself. Their next few encounters went about the same. Even during the rehearsal dinner, the best man refused to acknowledge the other attendees’ existence.

Hux pulled out an ear bud. His eyes squinted at her, then just as quickly softened. “You’re Rey’s friend. Rose, right?”

The sound of her name caught her off guard. She had assumed that such an ass as he, who could not be bothered to look up from his book, would not even think of learning someone’s name.

“That’s right.” She took a seat next to him on the bench. 

“We walked down the aisle together at the ceremony.”

“I’m surprised you recognized me from that, considering how high you held your nose.” Rose slapped a hand over her mouth. She had not meant for that to slip out.

Annoyance played on his face. “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be partying with the others or whatever bridesmaids do at weddings?”

“Headache.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes flitting down to his shoes. The two sat in silence for an eternity before he, reaching into the darkness, spoke again. “Here. Alcohol helps ease the pain.”

She looked at the bottle in his outstretched hand skeptically. “And you know this how?”

“First-hand experience. You don’t have to take it if you don’t want it. I’m not gonna pressure you or anything.”

She stared at him for a moment more, then accepted his offering. She took a small sip of the Chardonnay before passing it back to him.

He switched on his phone’s flashlight and set in face down on the bench between them. The light cast shadows upon him and the gazebo, which made them seem even more eerie than when they had been submerged in darkness.

“So. . .” she gazed up at the ginger. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, when you’re the groom’s best mate, you get best man duties. You were there.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “No, why are you here? Why are you sitting here alone in this creepy spider-filled den? How did you even know it existed?”

“I grew up here.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. She knew that unlike herself, Rey, and Finn, Hux had come from Ben’s world. She had just assumed he was the son of a diplomate or something. She did not know much about the royal family and their associates. Afterall, she was a computer science major, not poli sci. Now, if they had their own reality show, that would be a different story.

“Didn’t have the best home life.” He explained. “Leia took me in when I was fourteen. Didn’t have a lot of friends. Liked roaming around outside.”

“Oh.”

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence. That was the most she had ever heard him speak consecutively. She wondered what had caused the sudden word vomit. Surely it had not been the alcohol. The wine bottle had still been relatively heavy when he had first handed it to her.

“Well, I’ve only met Leia once, but she seems like a wonderful woman.”

A small smile formed on his lips. “Yes, she is.”

“So, I guess that makes you and Ben brothers.”

“Legally, no.”

She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. She stared at the bottle in her hands. She felt his gaze on her.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Yes, I--” her voice caught in her throat. “Yes, I did. An older sister, Paige. Lost her in a car crash a few years back.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Yeah, me too.” She took another sip from the bottle, then changed the subject. “You never told me why you were out here.”

“These types of things are a bit much for me.”

Rose nodded, encouraging him to go on.

“Too much noise. Too many people think that just because you’re not talking, it is an invitation for them to trap you in small talk.”

“God, right?” Rose laughed. “Like, just because I’m alone doesn’t mean you’re allowed to nudge me and ask when I’m going to settle down.”

“Leia asked me that same question five times this morning alone.”

“She just really wants grandbabies. You wouldn’t believe some of the things she has told Rey.”

“She isn’t going to have to wait that long. Those two are going to multiply like rabbits.”

“Right? The way those two stare at each other, like, get a room already. Preferably one far away from mine.”

“It’s disgusting.”

“Here’s a tip: if you live anywhere near them, invest in a set of noise-canceling headphones. They are a godsend.”

His face paled. “It’s that bad?”

“You have no idea.”

“I’m going to move to the other wing of the house. Or, better yet, out of the palace altogether.”

“Well, if you need help moving, I have nothing going on tonight.”

The two were interrupted by a fit of giggles coming from right outside the gazebo. As if they had been summoned, the newly wed couple burst into the room. Ben pushed Rey up against a post, turning the two into a sighing, groping singular body.

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wondering if she should say something--what she would even say. Thankfully, she did not have to wonder for long. Hux, a man she was now forever in debt to, let out a polite cough.

Rey’s eyes popped open. She turned her blushing face toward them. 

“Ben.”

He hummed and pressed another kiss to her cheek.

“Ben, stop.”

He looked down at her with the face of a kicked puppy. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got company.”

His gaze whipped over to them.

“Hi,” Rose gave the embarrassed couple a little wave.

“Um, hi.” Ben looked back down at his bride. “We should probably go check on our guests.”

“Yep. We should do that. You two have fun.”

The two dashed off to some other part of the gardens.

“Do you think they are going back to the party?”

“Probably not.”

“Well, I guess I’m sleeping in the study tonight.” Hux, grabbing his phone in one hand and the bottle in the other, stood up. “I’d better go grab my things out of my room before they make it to Ben’s. Then, I’ll start looking for a new place to live.”

“You’re really looking to leave the palace?”

Hux shrugged. “It’s time I move out on my own. I can’t live off Queen Leia’s generosity for the rest of my life.” 

Rose nodded. “Give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Give me your phone.” She held her palm up.

He stared at it for a moment before complying.

She turned it on then signed. “Unlock it.”

He fumbled while entering his passcode.

She opened his messenger app. It was sparse compared to hers, with only three conversation threads opened. She entered her number and texted it. Rose shut the phone off and handed it back to him.

“There, now you have my number if you want help moving into your new place.”

Hux stared at her, stunned.

She flashed him a smile, then turned away. As she walked back to the party alone, her headache long gone, she had the feeling that this was the beginning of a new chapter in her life.


End file.
